The Platypus

Funny thing about this unlikely creature is that it was made popular by Disney Channel’s Phineas and Ferb’s pet platypus named Perry the Platypus, code-named Agent P, the secret agent for the government organization of animal spies better known as O.W.C.A (The Organization Without a Cool Acronym or simply called, The Agency).

Although this does not pertain to the popular show, it is great to know an interesting character which is actually a semi-aquatic mammal native to Tasmania, Australia and New Guinea. The first time scientists were able to examine this animal they were baffled because of the combination of features it shared from ducks, otters, beavers and some venomous reptiles.

They lay eggs and have a queer appearance ranging from a bill that looks like a duck’s bill, a tail that is beaver-like in characteristic and a foot that is an exact form as that of the otter. It is also one of the few mammals with venom most definitive in the male platypus having a spur on the hind foot that gives out venom that brings about severe pain in humans and can cause a toxic effect on their enemies.

How in the world can a mammal lay eggs? The platypus is an unusual mammal, the one of only two mammals that lay eggs, the Echidnas as the other one. Mammals that lay eggs are under the animal group called Monotremata. These Monotremes have eggs with a flexible, sticky and leather-like shell which are then incubated and eventually, hatched outside the body of the mother.

All platypuses feed very well by going underwater as they use their front webbed feet in swimming altogether with their hind feet and their strong tails like the beaver’s. What is noteworthy is their ability to stay in water for approximately two minutes or more. They have this special kind of skin those folds on their eyes and ears to keep the water from coming in the eyes and ears providing them the capability to hunt food underwater effectively. Their nostril can just shut off easily like a lock that prevents water from going in as well.

So, the next time you see Perry the Platypus, he is more than just a secret agent but a unique mammal with a story to tell.

 The Platypus Video